Lunchtime News Wednesday 19th May 2021

News

Covid figures for the region as terraces and non essential shops reopen today - As today marks the next step in a progressive end to lockdown in France with the reopening of terraces, non essential shops and the curfew being pushed back to 9pm the Regional Health Agency has published its report for the Alpes Maritimes region. Since the start of the epidemic, the coronavirus has killed 1,950 people in the department (448 in nursing homes, 1,502 in hospitals). The number of people being hospitalised continues to drop with 325 patients admitted to hospitals in the region and 44 in intensive care units, which is the lowest total since the start of the year. Meanwhile the incidence rate is among the lowest in France standing at 58 on Tuesday 18th May.

Shoppers return with long queues outside many stores - Meanwhile as non-essential shops reopened in France today there were longs queues outside Zara on Avenue Jean-Medecin in Nice this morning. Many impatient shoppers, waited outside stores this morning, which have been closed due to the health crisis.

Report criticizes France’s response to care homes during the pandemic - A report published in France has criticized France's inadequate Covid-19 response for those living in care homes, noting people over 85 were worse affected in France than in Britain or the United States. The report also found that France's mortality rate was "well above the European average". 

Five experts heard from around 200 representatives of the French government, the health care system and the scientific community to prepare the report, which was made public on Tuesday. It specifically criticized the government for not providing enough care for older adults living in retirement homes.

France calls for violence to stop - France has pushed for the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as French President Emmanuel Macron calls for “the violence to stop”. The 15-member Security Council on Tuesday held its third private meeting in a week on the worst violence between Israel and the Palestinians in years. 

New deal - The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi, has praised the Paris financial summit as a "great opportunity" and said French president Emmanuel Macron was offering a "new deal". The Paris summit brought together African leaders and global financial institutions seeking to provide Africa with critical financing after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Air France-KLM flight powered by cooking oil - Air France-KLM has flown a biofuel-powered Airbus A350 from France  to Canada on Tuesday, demonstrating the airline's readiness to adopt low-emissions fuel. The Air France flight took off from Charles de Gaulle airport with a 16% mix of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its fuel tanks, produced in France by Total from used cooking oil. The flight signalled a "shared ambition to decarbonize air transportation and to develop a SAF supply chain in France". Starting next year, flights departing from France will be required to use 1% SAF, ahead of European Union goals to reach 2% by 2025 and 5% by 2030 under the bloc's Green Deal policy.

Surprise move by football coach Didier Deschamps - Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has been included in France's squad for the European Championship in a surprise move by coach Didier Deschamps. Benzema has scored 29 goals in all competitions for Real this season, but has not played for Les Bleus since 2015 after a blackmailing scandal over which he faces a trial in October.

And Finally

The chatty cat flap that talks to your pet: It’s one of a host of new high-tech gadgets for animals, but it will set you back £2,200.  

The cat flap allows you to get notification on my phone saying that your cats’ food has just been released.

You can then open the smart food dispenser app on your phone and watch your delighted cat tucking into dinner. You can then press the microphone so they can hear you,

The rise of tech means pets can have their own robot friends and electronic feeders with inbuilt calorie counters. There are even apps designed to translate miaows and woofs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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